Serpent's Teeth
by dragonsfootballchick
Summary: set AU hogwarts is a skool grades 6-12 the houses are dorms, and thers no magic...ull c if u read


Serpents Teeth  
  
It was dark, too dark for Heroine's liking, or for her to see. She was worried; Harry never came late when Seamus sent him to pick her up, although Ron was often late when it was his turn to drive. Clad in a soft baby-blue tank top that was more like spaghetti strapped sports bra, although she was bra-less, and a pair of extremely tight, dark jeans. They were somewhat faded though, she mused dryly, as she examined her heeled boots under the flare of the said jeans. She fidgeted and tapped her foot impatiently as she examined her makeup in the small mirror from her purse. All the while checking behind her while she fixed her golden-toffee eye shadow that accented her cinnamon honey colored eyes, and pale peachy-plum gloss, swiping at a microscopic amount of mascara that had made its way from her long lashes. Fiddling with a strand of her now straight long light brown hair, she checked her mirror one last time as she saw Ron's car finally pull up into the street. He smiled apologetically, and said, "Sorry I'm late Qt." He smiled good-naturedly and continued, "the Lion's waiting for you at the Den," she giggled at the odd name for the headquarters they had chosen and stepped towards the car.  
  
"Ron...err.... Blaze, what's with all the secrecy nowadays?" She asked innocently, batting her long eyelashes at him. He looked at her thoughtfully for a moment, but then a serious expression darkened his features.  
  
"I'll explain later, okay Shotgun?" He asked with a forced calm. He only called her shotgun when something was up; she tensed her expression and stepped once more towards the car, when she suddenly cried out, "Serpents!" He slumped in his seat, the shot through his arm ringing in her ears. She shrieked raucously and then everything went black, there was nothing there.  
  
Hermione woke up hours later in what appeared to be a cell, with a musty blanket thrown over her lap, a piteous effort to keep her warm against the dank chill of the hard stone. She visibly tensed, noticing that her gun was gone, and her wrists were chained above her in rusty links. She attempted to move her arms, to little avail; the chains holding them above her head were stronger than they looked. She sighed audibly as she heard a man grunt stupidly, "ahh, good, she's awake Hammer, see I didn't hit her too hard."  
  
"Shut up," came a muffled response from the other, resting his head in his arms on the table, she spotted her gun there, as well as her purse, embalmed with the Lions' insignia. She mentally cursed herself for putting it in such an obvious area, tensing as the man who had spoken first approached her cautiously. She was suddenly aware of the throbbing pain in her shoulder, and bit her lip till she tasted the warm crimson fluid running over the side. Her position was merely increasing the pain, and in no way was the cut dulling it.  
  
"Ow, take these damn chains off my wrists this instant, that is if you don't want me to scream," she said the last part of this in a deadly soft manner that the latter had to lean closer to hear. She looked at them annoyed, and then icily added, "NOW!"  
  
They looked at each other stupidly, then leered at her, "too bad she's for the dragon, eh Rock?" Asked the one addressed as Hammer, the first grunted in agreement, then the other added, "why should we untie you," in an oily voice that made her unconsciously shiver.  
  
"Because, these damn chains are making my shoulder hurt even more than it does already assholes," she spat vehemently at her captors, who looked temporarily taken aback at her words, looked at each other with concern, then leered at her once more before retreating to sit at the table with wicked grins. She then chose to add, "and if this bruise is bigger than my fist I'll make sure to double the pain for each one of you."  
  
"Aww, what's the bitch to do without her bodyguard," sneered one, in a falsely baby voice while the other laughed raucously. She smirked and shifted a silver anklet inside her boot that neither saw pressing a minute button that flashed red momentarily. Loosing another round her wrist, she cooed in a falsely seductive voice,  
  
"Oh, how can you boys be so cruel?" She whined in the tone that disgusted her, watching them as they relaxed, one's watch showing it was past four in the morning. They smirked one last time as they drifted into a noisy slumber, not seeing her finish undoing her "bone bracelet" and using it to remove the chains on her wrists silently.  
  
"Whatever would happen if I didn't need them to get out?" she asked no one in particular, smirking at their stupidity. Creeping toward the table she silently snatched her gun and made her way towards the door, praying to be silent and unguarded. Smiling as the door opened she crept into the darkened hallway, glancing before darting into deeper shadow.  
  
'That was the easy part,' Hermione thought timidly to herself as she slunk through the drab and icy corridors, making her best efforts to keep the heeled boots silent on the hard stone floors. The seemingly vast and maze-like area the traversed, seemed to her as large as a castle. Darting stealthily into an empty corridor as she heard voices approach.  
  
"Man, did you see the girl that Rock's guarding?" He wheezed in an asthmatic tone, "I hear he's gunna give her to the Dragon," he pointedly stated in a piteous attempt at slang, it seemed to her that with his thick accent he was most likely a foreign born that many of the people at her school despised, unless of course you had connections. Money and power bought connections, she had the first, but no one believed that 'a girl' should have any power; she cringed at the memory as she heard them continue.  
  
"Shut up Tyce, but yea," the other said reluctantly as they walked right past her, not noticing the shadow-cloaked figure in their midst. They continued their quiet arguing and she caught a few words.  
  
"Lucky it's our turn to guard the vixen, eh Lizard?" cackled the other in malicious tones. She shivered consciously gladdened that she had escaped before the shift change. She darted in the opposite direction as soon as she heard their footsteps and voices fade, creeping quickly along the wall as fast as stealth would allow. Silently removing her reacquired gun from its holster, she peered into a side corridor before darting into it. She paused a moment in a particularly dark patch of shadow to adjust the miniature one in her left boot, checking the several daggers hidden in the heels, as well as an irremovable fighting one in the toe of the boots. 'Pays to be prepared' she thought wryly as she checked before darting down the hall once more.  
  
Meanwhile---  
  
Ron's body had just recently been discovered, along with Hermione's other anklet, this was resting upon a simple note clenched in his dying fist. Harry shouted for the others to bring him to the hospital and inform Seamus immediately. He cringed while thinking of Seamus's temper at losing anyone, much less 'his girl' as he had dubbed Hermione. Harry had grudgingly come to accept this, as he was not hurting her and she was happy. But Harry knew that the moment Seamus hurt one of his best friends, he and Ron 'damn it' he thought, would be out for blood, Seamus's. He still hadn't gotten used to taking orders from anyone but Hermione, and at her insistence Seamus had made Harry his second in command, and he needed to learn to call people by their gang names.  
  
"Man Mione," he cringed, "err Rose, why can't this all just stop?" He asked his reflection in the blood, "wait this isn't Ron's," he said, that's when he noticed it, "Damn it, her scar!" He shouted and some of the men came running, "her scar opened again," he was getting near hysterics, he clenched the note in his hand, and shouted, "Damn it people get me Seamus NOW!"  
  
He glanced at the note, then did a double take at the signature, 'shit he thought, if he finds out its her, she's as good as dead'  
  
Hello pussycats,  
  
Well, seeing as the brave lioness is gone, what's a poor kitten  
to do? Here's what, you bring the stolen drugs to the harbor,  
that's what. If you don't, you just might find you precious  
little kitten, hmm how should I put this? Damaged...  
Waiting on the 29th at midnight,  
The Dragon from the Serpent  
  
Harry could feel his amusement at the words, 'gods Hermione be careful,' he thought to himself as he watched the pool of blood dry.  
  
Hermione fiddled with her favorite dagger in her boot with her other foot, while grasping her gun rather harshly, observing the halls before darting across. Hearing voices she melted into the shadows and stole a glance at the dagger, beautiful, she thought. And that's what it was, the dagger was ornately carved in gold and ivory along the hilt, vines of forest green intertwining throughout, displaying a large letter 'H' and the end of the hilt was that of a lion's head of gold. She chanced a look above her, and seeing the patrollers gone she darted back to the hall. Just as she was entering another passage she heard a loud cry of "Damn her!" Followed by shouts and running footsteps. Already there were about twenty or so men at the end of the hall, beginning a searching party for the woman curled in the shadows of a small corridor. She recognized the Rock, and Hammer, Goyle and Crabbe from her school, as well as others.  
  
"Damn it we better find her before the Dragon finds out we los--" the new voice was cut of as if by her dagger as a new, cold and deadly voice took its place.  
  
"Finds out what, Bear?" He said in dangerously smooth tones. She heard all of the men stutter horribly and then a shot rang throughout the halls. She barely hid her frightened gasp as she heard the resounding 'thud' of a body hitting the cold stone floor she crouched upon.  
  
The hideous thud was followed by a high-pitched shriek of horror that let all the ears ring, "Bear!!! Oh what did you do!!" followed by a chorus of,  
  
"Shut up slut!" That was when she recognized the voice, 'Pansy Parkinslut (Parkinson)' she thought oddly, her thoughts laced with disgust and scorn. But then she stopped all of her thoughts and strained to hear the cold voice's next words.  
  
"Now, unlike Marcus here, who can tell me what I have so unfortunately missed before I blow all of your brains out?" A deathly quiet ensued followed by a small voice trembling piteously replying cautiously.  
  
"S-she g-got aw-away m-m'lord," it whimpered as if cornered by a panther.  
  
"Oh, is that all?" The cold voice replied amusedly. "Well than find her you fucking imbeciles!" The voice replied so harshly that she felt herself trembling in fear in her hiding place. Visibly calming herself she listened closely to the enormous scurry of activity as the men rushed to get away from the voice. She slid deeper, if possible into the shadows of the deserted corridor as the men shot in all directions, noticeably keen not to be the last to leave, or the closest to him. As soon as she couldn't hear any more noise, she slipped quietly to the hall and set off for the visible main corridor at a breakneck speed, unfortunately, right into a wall. Made of flesh??...  
  
"Oh, hello," came a dangerously smooth reply from above her frightened seat on her backside, currently on the floor after her fall. She looked up in terror, 'Oh God,' she thought, 'I'm dead.' 'But hey,' said a small part of her sub-conscious, 'at least he's hot.' And that he was, tall and muscular, with a still lithe form. Large hands, his broad chest barely concealed by his tight black cotton shirt, long muscled legs...and platinum blonde hair and blue grey eyes?!?!  
  
"M-Malfoy!" Was all she could choke out in her apparent fear, he stared at her perplexedly for a moment, amber eyes locking with molten steel. She shakily drew her gun and pointed it at him, leaping to her feet as if on fire, he looked at her amusedly before saying,  
  
"Ah, ah, ah, no playing with guns," as he swatted it away effortlessly, mocking her in his eyes. She dove gracefully aside whilst drawing the smaller gun from her boot and pointing it at him from a farther distance.  
  
"St-stay away, I-I'm warning you," she said as her voice cracked horribly. She then felt the barrel of a larger gun pressed to her back, 'acck, how could I have been so careless rushed through her head,' as she heard a malicious voice respond to her thoughts.  
  
"Now drop the gun, or you'll lose more than your life," it silkily replied. She silently complied as the blonde smirked at the bulky figure behind her, she chanced a look at him and the beginnings of a smirk tugged at the corners of her lips, when she caught his gaze he looked at her questioningly. She swiftly ducked, elbowing the man in the gut, hard, while rounding a kick at his gun, knocking it away. Flipping him over her shoulder and throwing him at the blonde as she had been taught to do she landed in a crouch drawing her favorite dagger from her other boot.  
  
"I meant it, now get me out of here!" she said vehemently as she glared at the men as best as she could to hide her obvious fear of the blonde.  
  
"Well this is what everyone's so excited about?" he amusedly asked no one in particular, something akin to mischief hiding in his steely eyes. She watched his eyes as they gleamed in mild amusement, never once leaving as long as they were both visible to her. "This is the prize stolen from the Lion's den?" He smirked as his eyes raked over her body, she tensed visibly, and her eyes alight with fury and anger. The gold depths shrouded in a hazy flame. The bulky man looked positively terrified, while the other did nothing but smirk amusedly.  
  
----Meanwhile ---  
  
Ron was in critical care at the local hospital, ranting and raving, no one could get near him enough to hear the almost silent utterances though, for he lashed out at anyone within reach. Harry finally arrived looking stricken and distraught, running to him and grabbing his arms so as the doctor could Velcro it to the sides of the makeshift bed.  
  
"Ron, Ron, can you hear me?" Harry questioned as if rushed by the devil himself.  
  
"They got her, I've got to help her, let me out!" Ron shouted morosely, struggling vengefully against the bonds that held him still.  
  
"Who's got who, Ron answer me, and did you see anyone?" Harry asked as precautious as possible, given the current state of his friend.  
  
"Serpents! They got 'Mione!" He almost sobbed, thrashing his head about for what seemed like hours before exhaustion finally kicked in, "damn them, they got her, I saw them too. But I couldn't dodge the bullet, they knocked her out, I saw them do it. They're going to hurt her Harry; she's lucky they don't recognize her. Harry it was Goyle, and where there's Goyle there's..." Ron fell asleep the drugs finally taking effect, leaving Harry to finish the sentence for him, in a rough low deadly tone,  
  
"Malfoy..."  
  
Shawn (OC) came rushing in just as Harry had uttered the words, panting, out of breath and terrified beyond words. He made motions so as to indicate something of great importance. Harry tapped his foot impatiently, a bad habit he had borrowed from Hermione as he waited for the boy to catch his breath. "H-Harry b-big tr-trouble!" the boy panted asthmatically. "T- the a-ad-adder has bi-bitten the lion's p-paw," he stuttered as best as he could, Harry's eyes going wide with shock. He quickly made sense of the code... 'Damn them,' he thought. The poisonous snake has bitten them. But that only meant.... he gasped loudly and started coughing horribly,  
  
"How many casualties?" He asked weakly to the small boy,  
  
"Ten dead and fifteen wounded, among them the king has lain to rest." Harry visibly paled at this one code, it had one meaning, and their leader was dead. 'Oh god' he thought bitterly, 'without Seamus we're as good as dead'  
  
"There's more Scar," the boy said visibly tensing, remembering to use the code names, "written in blood by the Lion himself is the new hierarchy, he didn't know that Rose was gone," the boy broke down into sobs at the mention of his sister figure's kidnapping and handed a small, torn piece of paper to Harry, smeared with dirt and encrusted with grime. He set it on the table so as to use the light to read the blood drawn words.  
  
To the new Lions  
The snake has bitten the paw, and the poison is toxic.  
Second becomes first and the lady shall stand down, anew in her  
place. The dead avenged I pray, tell her of my love and keep her  
from harm's way...Seamus  
  
The last few words were so badly smeared it took Harry a while to decipher. He sighed looked up to the boy and said, "Punk, we shall keep the names that we all have, I refuse to accept a new name, I may be the leader, but my name stays, understood?" The boy nodded mutely and he said, "Shawn, do you want me to translate it for you, so you can tell the others?" The small boy nodded gravely and Harry took out a new piece of paper, writing down the translation,  
  
Members of the Lions,  
  
The serpents have gotten to me, the wound id deadly, fatal to be  
blunt. Scar is the new leader, and Rose shall step down, as Lily  
is now the Lioness. Avenge our deaths, and tell Rose I love her,  
and keep her safe  
Seamus  
  
Harry sighed in exhaustion, staring out the window, 'what do I do now,' he thought to himself, ''Mione would know what to do,' he thought bitterly, as he watched Ron sleep fitfully, shouting out at odd moments and preventing long trains of thought. He swore to himself, 'I'll make them pay,' as he drifted off into his own fitful slumber.  
  
"Prize?" She scoffed in a tone that sounded more like a roar of frustration. "What am I, a fucking possession to you people?" She screamed in a tone to rival that of any vexed female in the cosmos. She glared at him, and then he moved as if to go slow, her dagger following his movements subconsciously, but then he moved too fast for her to comprehend, let alone follow.  
  
The next thing she knew she was held by her wrists behind her and her own dagger to her throat. She made a small growl of frustration mixed with fear, only to have it choked of by him pressing the dagger closer to her precious lifeline. She took a shaky breath, hampered somewhat by her own attempts to constrict her throat smaller. She saw his eyes gleam with mischief and amusement at the turn of events as he throatily said,  
  
"And what do we have here? The Lion's Lioness?" He mirthlessly chortled, followed by the throaty guffaws of the heavy counter-part, silenced by her threatening glares. He watched her flush with rage as his master scanned her body from his lovely 'view' from slightly above her. The moment she made a move so as to slap him he tightened the grip of the blade fractionally against her creamy throat, earning an attempted hidden gasp from the angry girl. He moved his attention to her shoulder and tonelessly asked, "who did this," in his usual cold, emotionless tone. She attempted to spin in his grasp, but this resulted in him tightening his grip on her wrists and causing her to gasp in pain.  
  
"What the scar or the bruise?" She said as icily as she could, receiving a blank stare in the reflection, "then I take it that you're speaking about the bruise?" He nodded acutely and she replied effortlessly, "Crabbe, or was it Goyle, I can never tell them apart, whichever is Rock." She tensed as his shoulder hit her re-opened scar; he looked down and said,  
  
"This too?" Receiving a confused stare, and then mentally slapping himself for lack of attention he said, "oh, right the scar, you do know it's more of an opened wound though, right?" He asked conversationally. "Don't worry, Goyle will pay later."  
  
"The scar, thanks to those damn chains, was ripped apart by the position of my body in the chains, she looked at the reflection and saw something akin to concern in his eyes, but it was gone before she had time to register what it was.  
  
He shoved her in the relative direction of his bulky counterpart, who looked if possible, even more nervous than before. "Take her to the 'medi, and make sure no one touches her, we wouldn't want out guest to feel uncomfortable, now would we?" He said the word guest as if it had some hidden meaning, then he added something for her benefit, "don't bother to try to run away, you're safer when under my protection anyway, but if they do something inappropriate you can kill them for all I care, just try to keep the blood to a minimum, eh?" She looked at him questioningly before turning to follow the shivering man down the darkened hallways, confused and somewhat unnerved. 'Hmm,' she thought to herself, 'he doesn't recognize me, I guess that's why I'm still alive, I can use that to my benefit, but how?'  
  
After having her scar, in the shape of a carved 'S,' which the 'Medi recognized as one of the means of torture from the lower class members, although saying nothing of it, it was not her business to tell anyone, other than the Dragon, that is. She stitched the shape closed with her needle while encouraging the cringing girl to cry, which she didn't, this surprised the woman, who looked to be about in her thirties, although she was in her early twenties to give the girl, whom she thought couldn't be over eighteen a lot of respect. She cautiously whispered to the girl while still in the closed off medic section of the room, "why are you here?" The girl looked at her as if trying to gauge her reliability, and then replied,  
  
"I wish I knew," in a forlorn tone that clearly stated that she didn't know although she wanted to greatly. 'Medi looked at the girl, taking in her torn clothes and mussed makeup before handing her an overlarge sweater, cautioning her of the dangers of the place, and to keep her wits about her. With a final small smile of gratitude the girl placed a small note in the woman's hand, along with a tiny insignant ring meant as a charm for a bracelet, the cover of the note bore the words, 'read away from others.'  
  
The woman seeing as there was no one left to tend to shooed the girl out of the room back into the hall with the bulky man and sat down on her stool to read the note, glancing over her shoulder often.  
  
The note read: Dear recipient,  
  
Thank you for aiding a member in such a way as to help them, or  
prevent harm from coming to them, if in any case your establishment is  
attacked and you are assumed as one of the enemy, show is the charm  
and you will be set free, otherwise you will most likely be killed.  
This only applies if the attacking force is the Lions, for we cannot  
guarantee your safety among other gangs, this token of gratitude is  
very rare to receive, however DO NOT allow anyone from your gang to  
see this, for they will assume it as a traitorous sign and most likely  
kill you, keep it safe, always.  
  
The Lions  
  
The lady exhaled audibly and said, "if only you knew the trouble you've become one with, Ms. Granger." She straightened in her chair, "if only you knew."  
  
As Hermione was walking down the corridors, vaguely aware of where she was going, the bulky man had given her pretty vague directions for someone who obviously didn't know the place well. She sighed at her own stupidity. Allowing him to continue his patrol shift before getting proper directions, she was so distracted by her thoughts that she didn't notice a pale figure creep up behind her till a strong arm snaked its way around her, grabbing her wrists and holding something cold against her throat. She mentally berated herself for her carelessness, and was about to attempt one of her favorite flipping techniques when she suddenly realized the precariousness of her situation, just as a cold, amused voice drawled in her ear, "miss me babe?" She visibly tensed, recognizing both the person and the blade at her throat, her own.  
  
"No!" She said as icily as she could, while still keeping her voice at a minimum level. She was running through countless plans for escape, each seemed more foolish then the last. She was about to add more when the same cold voice brushed seductively against her neck, sending soft chills down her spine, saying, "now weren't we going somewhere?" The tone hiding a multitude of double meanings, some more ...err ....different ....than others, none of which, she convinced herself, would she enjoy. "Now weren't we supposed to go to the main dining hall, to meet everyone, ne?" His breath was absolutely driving her mad, she attempted to shift away from him, but found herself unable to do so. She remedied this by saying as coldly as she could,  
  
"Well, if this place wasn't so damn big the directions that bozo gave me would have actually been helpful, seeing as this place is like a fucking maze." Her tone seemed to have the desired effect, for her momentarily shifted slightly away from her, but to her dismay, he was merely tucking her dagger back into her boot.  
  
"Keep this, you may need it later, just don't count on being able to use it against me, uhh..." He seemed at a loss for words, and finally comprehending his words, she dejectedly replied.  
  
"Shotgun, but everyone calls me Rose."  
  
"Alright then," he said with a smirk, running his tongue swiftly across her cheek, invisibly delighting in the shocked gasp he received, "why don't you follow me Rose?" he heard her mumble something alone the lines of, 'do I really have a choice?' and he smirked into the darkness that the lack of moonlight provided, leading her through the winding halls by the hand. He thought amusedly, 'this might actually promise to be fun.' At this same time Hermione was contemplating her different methods of escape. She remembered a particular favorite of hers, 'but that's going to take some time,' she thought, risking a glance at her obviously occupied captor, 'I have time,' she thought, as she began to work out the details of her plan...  
  
Hermione was still in the process of completing her plan when Draco finally stopped at two large wooden doors, each easily twice their height. Made of gleaming mahogany, although slightly faded from the wear of time and passers-by. The wrought iron handles and designs gleamed in the dim moonlight. He cast an amused glance behind him before opening the doors and casting a shallow bow to her. "Ladies first," he said in his silkily defined drawl, motioning for her to proceed ahead of him. She cast a nervous glance at the doors before entering the hall, her hands itching to be around her dagger, or even her missing guns. He proceeded to follow her in, smirking at her obvious awe of the gargantuan room, with its cathedral style ceilings, that they were currently using as a meeting room.  
  
All eyes turned towards them as they entered, causing Hermione to squirm in discomfort, Draco ignored this and motioned for her to take a seat at his left as he settled himself at on of the ends of the table. She swiftly examined the men seated nearest her and sent the one to her left a withering glare as he inched his hand closer to her thigh, Draco merely chuckled at the display, along with several others snickering in the background, she sent glares at them all and only Draco did not shrink slightly away at the frightening stares. He cleared his throat, turning all but one pair of eyes in his direction, he grew annoyed at the girl's lack of respect and threw his empty wine glass at her, she caught it without even turning around, earning a few shocked gasps and a few envious glares, few had been able to catch something he had thrown, facing him or not.  
  
She sent him a ferocious glare and gave a satisfied smirk when he actually flinched, no one but her had noticed this acute movement, so she merely shrugged with indifference and turned around again, fiddling with one of her bracelets, it struck a chord of recognition within him that was gone before he could even process it. All of the men in the hall were sending her murderous glares, none had been able to get away with anything, much less ignorance of their leader, her shifting fingers told him that she was just itching to draw her dagger, 'and whatever other weapons she most likely has hidden,' he thought amusedly. He chuckled, earning the attention from all and one annoyed glare. He smiled before beginning. "Now before our charming guest feels anymore compelled than she already is to kill any of you I would like to begin the meeting." All eyes turned once more, although this time disbelievingly to the girl sitting at his left, she smirked and waved happily, earning squirms from most of the men.  
  
Before anyone could react the doors burst open suddenly, all of the occupants whirled around, however one slid to a crouch and drew several miniscule daggers from her hair, expertly throwing them at the new occupant of the room, pinning him to the wall outside before anyone could process her movement, minus one person who merely smirked at her reaction to being startled.  
  
The would-be new occupant of the room was suspended approximately two feet above the ground, supported by daggers under and over his arms, as well as some on either side of his legs and two missing the sides of his face by mere millimeters. He seemed terrified out of his mind, all eyes turned to the girl once more, this time in shock. She was still holding two of the daggers in hand, she grinned sheepishly as the occupants  
  
"Oops," was all she said, though it was somewhat timidly. Four or five of the men in the room attempted to smirk, and only one did successfully, Draco. He suppressed a chuckle at the evident shock on all of the faces of the people in the room, looking around with a barely concealed I-told-you-so-now-who's-better-than-you look. He hid this behind a mask of cool indifference he normally wore, mentally thanking his experience so as not to make a fool of himself. He caught the ghost of a smirk on her face before it once more became expressionless as she resumed her seat, pointedly ignoring the man on the wall, the others, minus Draco, openly gaped at her.  
  
"Well, well gentlemen," said Draco in the usual drawl she remembered all to well from school. "It seems as though the prize you spoke of actually has a value to it." His eyes gleamed in the torchlight, as random chuckles sounded in the hall. They seemed to have all forgotten about the previous man whom had attempted to enter the hall. He seemed slightly unnerved at this. He squirmed, attempting to get away from the tiny daggers nearly embedded in his flesh, doing his best to keep from crying out when they began to cut into the skin. "Oh and Rock, can you get Acid down from there?" he smirked as the large man lumbered over to the struggling teen, grunting a response.  
  
"Uhh, boss?" He stuttered stupidly. Hearing Draco grunt in acknowledgement he continued, "they won't come out," he said quietly.  
  
"WHAT!!!" Draco roared, angered at the weakness of his men, "Hammer, you try," he snarled, causing the man to jump, he tried, but after a few minutes he shook his head in defeat, Draco growled in frustration, they were his two strongest men, and the daggers didn't even budge. "You realize that now my patrol is a man short?" he asked her annoyed, though little emotion showed through.  
  
"Aww, come off it," she snapped.  
  
"Well I don't see you doing anything to help," he coldly replied  
  
"I want to see you try first," she smirked.  
  
"Fine," he said arrogantly, and sauntered up to the blades. He paused to examine them, before ineffectively trying to rip them out of the wall. She stood there smirking, before bursting out laughing, one or two people snickered, but his cold glare silenced them.  
  
"My turn," she said sweetly, prodding him away from the knives, clicking her heels together as she did so, in the act pushing a small button on the right heel of her boot. She smirked, walked up to the hanging teen and said cajolingly, "now what will you do if I let you down," honey encasing her speech making him stutter a reply that no one but her caught, and even then just barely. She smiled and gave a small tug on the dagger, pulling it completely from the wall, turning away she smiled, "anyone care to try now?" A few stepped, up, as she moved back her heels clicked together, unnoticed by all, as she calmly replaced the one removed dagger in her boot. After several minutes of trying, Draco's patience was wearing thin.  
  
"Enough already, just pull the damn things out so the meeting can continue," he shouted loudly. All the men scurried back to their seats as she clicked her heels together and muttered something like 'no fair, no more fun,' she pouted as she walked up to the man and deftly removed each dagger, with seemingly no energy at all. Some of the men began to sweat, he heard mutters of, 'and no one else could even budge them, she doesn't even look like she's trying,'  
  
Hermione smirked as she sat down, all the while thinking, 'wow that went better than I planned.' She smiled at the men, earning weak smiles or fear-laden faces in return, causing Draco to scowl. 'Hmm,' she thought, 'this might just be easier than I originally thought.' She smiled at everyone as Draco launched his speech once more, but her smile quickly turned to a frown..........  
  
"Now where was I?" Draco mused out loud, "oh yes, I was about to accentuate on the value of the prize, Rock." He watched the men in the room all squirm in anticipation, smirking openly at their uncomfortable auras, as well as the murderous stare he received from the so-called prize. He cleared his throat before saying, "well gentlemen," earning a snicker at this and several bemused looks towards the girl that snickered at this comment. He paused to look around the room languidly before continuing, "It seems this prize you spoke of actually has a value to this," he said in the usual drawl she remembered all-too well from school. This comment earned several whistles and cheers from the men, as well as two indignant shrieks of outrage from two of the female occupants in the room. He smirked languidly, "and why does this bother you my dear?" He smoothly inquired, mischief and amusement evident in his eyes. The blonde girl, Hermione immediately recognized as pansy, glowed with pride, mistaking his words, 'slut,' Hermione thought.  
  
She simpered, "But Drak-iy, I thought that she-" Only to be harshly cut off by Draco himself, saying.  
  
"Not you, you slut," he said in such an extremely violent manner, that caused some of the men to shift away from him. It was only then that the blonde wow this gives a whole new meaning to dumb blonde, eh? realized that the girl being referred to so fondly was looking as if she wanted to kill her precious Draco, 'as if I'd let her do that,' pansy thought. But nonetheless she replied in a perfectly cool, toneless manner, causing some to shiver at her façade of heartlessness.  
  
"Why Draco," she said, pausing at the gasps all around, apparently they too, had not recognized her. 'I can use this to my advantage she thought,' she gave a half-smirk before proceeding in such an icy manner that several nearest her all shivered, "I've already told you once, I am not a fucking possession," all but the farthest from her, and Draco himself shrunk away slightly at her ominous, towering presence. "I have a name, and refuse to be treated as a possession, especially when I am there to do something about it myself." She said in the same icy manner.  
  
He merely chuckled at her and said, "job well done rock," causing the mentioned man to absolutely glow with pride, as others looked on sullenly. He then added, "Pan-z, would you be sure that this good behavior is rewarded well?" The tone of these words caused Hermione to look at him questioningly as Goyle was escorted from the room by Pansy; he looked as if he was on cloud nine. She unconsciously shifted in her chair as she fiddled with one of her bracelets. The men seemingly ignored her, until she recognized one of the men that had been talking about her just before the change of shifts and her escape was noted. Her loud gasp brought all attention to her, and Draco who had been previously discussing something of relative importance, to irritably reply, "what?"  
  
She merely pointed to the man, her eyes wide, trembling and squeaked something that no one was able to catch. "Why Tyce, what have you done to scare the poor girl so?" Draco asked, with his eyes laced full of cruel amusement and cold indifference.  
  
"Not what did, said," she managed to choke out, her voice broken, in what appeared to be fear, all attention was on Tyce now, as they all watched the color drain from his face, leaving it a chalky color.  
  
"You bitch! You were there weren't you?" he snarled ferociously, his hand moving to grab his gun, earning a chuckle from Draco. This seemed to bring him back down to earth, the now red complexion turning milky once more.  
  
"My, my Tyce, what did she do to rile you up so? I myself would say she's quite the little shadow at times, and a vixen at others," he smirked appreciatively at her, causing a semi-murderous glare in return. He then continued, "but she could probably be standing right in front of you, and you wouldn't notice till I told you to look for her." He said in a cold, amused tone. This earned many silent chuckles in return, "I am amused," he continued, his voice laced with sarcasm. "That a simple girl could hide in a small shadow, wearing a light blue top, and not one of you noticed, nor had the balls to tell me." His sarcasm ended abruptly, cut off by a new sound...  
  
This new sound was... Hermione giggling? ... She smirked, making them all jump. "What's so funny," Lizard snarled monstrously, a tic in his cheek. The girl chuckled as her image flickered, causing them all to jump. She began in a somewhat monotonous tone, sending chills down their spines till they realized what she was saying.  
  
"By the time all you thick-headed bastards finally realize that I'm gone, or the hour timer on this hologram wears off, whichever comes first? Most likely the latter, I will be far enough away from you bastards to rejoin my comrades, oh and Draco, if memory serves me correctly, you should have figured this out long ago. If not from the style and design of the bracelet, then from the simple fact that we worked on this assignment together," the image paused to chuckle, "but nonetheless, happy attempts at remembering me, love Rose." The image blew them all a kiss, smirked, flickered twice, and disappeared. Shouts ensued throughout the hall, all the men rushing past a smiling Draco. He retrieved the bracelet from her place at the table, "clever, very clever Rose," he mused aloud. Attempting to grasp a memory of the fiery vixen herself, who had obviously gone to school with him proved fruitless. He sighed before standing, smirking before he realized that he did not remember sitting down, glancing at his watch he said, "Oh shit, it's already been fifteen minutes since I released the buffoons."  
Hermione stayed where she was, crouched in a shadowed corner of the entryway; due to the sudden violent shouts from the adjacent corridors she presumed they had discovered the bracelet. 'The hour timer must have worn off,' she mused to herself, barely containing a dry chuckle. 'Now, how to frighten them even more,' she grinned. She slipped one of the normal bracelets from her wrists, slunk over to the door, remained in her crouched position for a moment, and then slipped the bracelet halfway under the door. She grinned like the Cheshire cat and slunk back to her corner once more. She did this so as to leave the impression that she had escaped, although she hadn't, the heavy doors required several passwords, none of which she was in the possession of.  
  
On any normal circumstance, this would have been of no challenge to her, but as her luck may have it, the one bracelet that was for the purpose of hacking and cracking codes was the one bracelet she had lost in her initial encounter with Goyle, as well as the bruise on her shoulder. 'What a way to start off a night,' she sarcastically thought. 'Come to think of it, what time is it, and what day for that matter,' now she was worried. 'Why did they even kidnap me in the first place?' She paused momentarily, then realizing her blunder quickly made her way back further into shadow before continuing her evaluation of her thoughts.  
  
As if timed to do so, a small boy shot down the hall she had occupied moments earlier. He paused at the door, noticing the bracelet. He bent down to retrieve it, the boy's small face broke into a jack-o-lantern grin, "so she did leave, Master Dragon was wrong." The boy looked no older than fifteen, and that was being generous to his age, he shouted loudly, much louder than she thought that he would have been capable of. ""Master Lizard!"  
  
One of the men that she had seen earlier came speeding down the hall, his evergreen cloak billowing behind him in such a way that it reminded her of professor Snape, 'wonder if they're related,' she grinned. He seemed angry with the small boy, as if he had disturbed him from something of great importance.  
  
"What!?" He shouted at the boy, not even bothering to mask his irritation and disdain.  
  
"This," the boy said, proudly holding the bracelet in his outstretched hands. He launched into an explanation of how he had found the silver trinket and its exact location in terms of the stonework. After the boy's rushed explanation, Lizard clapped the boy on the back saying,  
  
"Congrats Mo, I'm sure the Dragon will be pleased." He paused before adding, "Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be going outside."  
  
"Then I'll go inform the Dragon, sir?" It was more a question then a statement, as the boy obviously feared the man's wrath, 'smart boy,' Hermione thought. He received a curt nod in reply before turning to sprint down the hall as if burned to the soul by the Devil's flames. Hermione then turned to focus all her attention on the man before her now as he stepped up to the doors and approached the keypad.  
  
'195181651420,' she monotonously repeated in her head as he entered it into the first keypad. 'Hmm,' she thought with dry amusement, 'spells Serpent.' He then moved to the second keypad, earning her rapt attention once more. '1621185,' she smirked. 'Pure, and Serpent, oh how original.' He stood back as the door automatically opened, to reveal a single armed guard. 'Pathetic,' she thought, 'they're making this too easy.' She paused, 'almost too easy.'  
  
Hermione waited, for hours it seemed, although in reality it was but a few minutes. Once she was sure that the coast had been cleared for long enough, she darted to the door warily looking over her shoulder. She slowly entered the passwords, and paused momentarily before hitting the enter key on the second keypad, she pressed the settings button, then the enter key. Smirking devilishly to herself, 'now what to enter that they would never expect, ahh yes.' She grinned sardonically before pausing long enough to enter the new passwords. '4181315,' pausing to move to the next keypad to enter, '1311261525.' She almost sighed at the stupidity of the men if they could not deduce the new password. 'Draco Malfoy, their leader's name is the password, if they are truly brain-dead, then only will they not be able to see the simple logic behind my plan.'  
  
She then pressed the enter key and barely inched the door open, 'let the bastards chew on that,' she smirked before quickly flinging the door wide open, catching the lone sentry off guard before he could so much as shout. She quickly darted behind a large rose bush on the surrounding gardens, dutifully avoiding the thorns. She made a conscious effort to survey the surrounding area before slinking off in a crouch towards the surrounding forestry. 'This looks almost like the mansion that appeared on the TV a week or so ago,' a sick sort of realization dawned on her as she looked the vast estate over. She nearly toppled from her cover in a large tree as this occurred. 'Oh mi-god, the Malfoy manner, but that means, I'm on the border of England and Wales.' She had to make a conscious effort not to gasp aloud at her discovery.  
  
She then spotted a lone figure dressed in either black or camouflage, she couldn't tell the difference in the pitch black surrounding the entire estate, thanks to the lack of urbanization in the area. She squinted at it warily eyeing the figure, till she noticed the flaming emblem of the lions tattooed on the man's slightly muscled arms. 'Only one member has that tattoo,' she thought.  
  
"Pyro," the words came out as a strangled whisper as the urge to see the boy combated the need to remain as silent as possibly, for fear of recapture. She finally decided on the lesser of the two evils, or so it seemed. "Py," she choked out weakly once more, in a desperate plea for his attention, which apparently didn't reach his ears. She removed another of the ordinary bracelets, whose purpose was to confuse and ornament. She attached a small vine; both to weight the object, and to acknowledge the tree bound origin of its descent. She vaulted the small object at the boy, pretty hard, considering its size and weight. She actually threw it a tad harder then she intended, but all was well as it came in contact with the boy's skull. This rendered a mild, 'Ow,' from the boy as he haphazardly peered at the surrounding areas. She jumped gracefully down from her perch on the branch, startling the poor boy terribly. She had to watch him both physically and mentally restrain himself from rising and calling out to her. The motions of self-disciplining lasted approximately a minute before he began to shimmy towards her in the same manner in which he had been approaching the manor.  
  
As soon as he deemed himself a safe enough distance from the manor, he rose quickly, warrant it a tad gracelessly due to the nature of the boy. He scrambled to his feet after a brief reinstatement to the ground at his haste, rushing the remaining ten feet or so, to scoop her up and spin her around once in his exuberance. He released her momentarily before enveloping her in a crushing bear hug, lasting only until she was able to choke out, "Py...need...air," He grinned sheepishly as he released her, although the humor was contagious, she was able to avoid duplicating his smile for a good ten seconds. Almost immediately following this his look turned to a direly solemn expression as he composed himself once more. He gracelessly dug into his pockets and fished out two pieces of paper, both folded meticulously precise and straight in small triangles. One had a small message displayed on the cover which read,  
  
I 'Do not open yet, wait until positively safe, the other is an old letter decoy.' /I She gravely nodded, feeling suddenly fearful and apprehensive, tucking the two in her left boot. She smiled appreciatively at him, he too returned the smile, although not even a moment's later it was turned into a grimace of pain and anguish. The boy's young body unceremoniously fell face forward into the mud and dirt, a single dagger embedded into the soft flesh of his back. Hermione felt her scream reverberate through her throat as it tore from her body in an inhumanly pitch. She felt as if the sound would wake the dead as the new face staring down at her smiled maliciously, contorting his features horribly.  
  
"L-lizard?" Hermione choked out in an indistinguishable expression, as Pyro lay there in the mud, bleeding horribly. She seemed to come to her senses and shouted, well more like screeched, "my little brother!" She sobbed hysterically as she threw herself to the ground near the bloody boy. She glared up at the man, her face streaked with makeup blood and tears, her glare softened by her demeanor of helplessness. "H-he wasn't e-even sixtee- teen!" He looked frightened to say the least; he had probably not expected anyone of importance to attempt her rescue.  
  
He took something out of his back pocket and she squinted to see it. He flicked it at her and immediately her brain processed it as a three pronged 'out' dart. It knocked the person out for hours and left a splitting headache in its wake. She deftly caught it between her fingers, her eyes gleaming with hate and malice.  
  
"Now now, my reptilian friend," she said, spite evident in her voice. "Aren't you going to help my little brother here?" That was when she realized it, it wasn't a three-pronged dart, it had spikes all along its sides, 'KUSO!' she mentally cursed, that was how she had caught it. Just as she was losing consciousness, she saw a dark figure come up behind Lizard to loom over his smaller form.  
  
MEANWHILE   
  
"Meeting adjourned," Harry called, exhaustion evident in his voice, an age there that he did not possess. "Hey Chase, have you seen Pyro?" He called to a shorter brunette.  
  
"Nah, no one's seen him since Rose went missing," the boy said worriedly, " she was always, like a sister to him." He said, his American accent heavy on his tongue. "I hope he hasn't done anything stupid," the boy looked nervous and wary of the new leader's response.  
  
"Shit!" Harry cursed, "Devon, Gabe, Kal, any of you seen Pyro?" When he was greeted by unanimous 'no's' with other comments attached, he grew even more concerned. "Damn it! At least I know where he is," Harry stated resignedly.  
  
"Where is he?" Chase asked suddenly fearful.  
  
"He went after Rose," was Harry's broken reply. "Shit, that makes fifteen dead an fourteen missing, not counting Mione." He exhaled loudly as he stood, calling out seemingly random orders to those around him. Yet if you were careful enough you could see, he had a plan, but what was it???  
  
"What did you do to her boss?" asked the small boy, his figure looming over the kneeling man in worry.  
  
"Miss Rose is taking a little nap, however," his tone switching from cajoling to an uncertain urgency. "This boy needs medical care ASAP!" The boy murmured a 'yes sir' and proceeded to drag the boy whose pallor had reached a milky white, towards the castle. When they arrived at the doors, the passwords were received as incorrect. "Stupid bitch is clever after all," he muttered under his breath.  
  
"What sir?" Mo asked, afraid he had missed a command or an order.  
  
"Nothing," Lizard sighed in exasperation. They spotted four figures walking toward them. Of not for the silver fastenings on their cloaks practically glowing in the moonlight, they could've been mistaken for passing shadows.  
  
"M-milord!" Lizard stammered, afraid of the punishments that could be dealt.  
  
"What is this?" Draco asked nonchalantly, gesturing vaguely to the smallest boy whose complexion showed him within a hair's breadth of death if not given aid.  
  
"W-when I recaptured the lady, as you commanded sir," he hurriedly rushed on, "I had stabbed the boy and she grew very angry, yelling at me for stabbing her so-called brother, sir?" He gulped, worriedly, "she threatened my life before she felt the effects of the dart." He attempted a weak smile, "you were right to put the spikes on the sides, for that is how she caught it, as you predicted they all would, milord."  
  
"Alright then," Draco said, in a clipped business tone, "Lets go inside then, shall we?" He stated in the same manner.  
  
"W-we cant S-sir." Mo said, "The girl Master called bitch changed the passwords." The boy said worriedly.  
  
Oh, if looks could kill. The boy would be dead from Lizard's murderous glares.  
  
"Stand down," Draco commanded, stepping forth. "Voice activation code overrode." He called calmly as he moved. Moments later the locks clicked and the doors opened, revealing many panicked members.  
  
"M-mater Dragon, w-we couldn't get outside, w-we were w-worried ab-about y- you!" Stuttered one of the members of the crowd pitifully. Draco smirked, and then gestured boredly to the two limp members of the group behind him. The grace, as always was present. The men nodded knowledgably and took them, rushing to the hospital's quarters in the northern wing.  
  
MEANWHILE  
  
"We've got a tracer on Pyro, but it's far away and still moving." Called Jess, one of the more technical members of the Lions.  
  
"Good," called Harry, "where is he?"  
  
"Judging from the 'local' now," Yuino called worriedly, "I'd say he's at the Malfoy Manor." He frowned at his own words, him and his friends paling considerably.  
  
Harry paled along with the rest, 'god,' he thought, 'what are they going to do with him?' He shook his head, clearing the scattered thoughts, He sped the progress of his plans tenfold at the thoughts of the small boy's torture. The thoughts took a new route then, and he thought even paler then before, 'please be safe Mione, Pyro'...  
  
Hermione woke up in a lavishly furnished room, the colors of green and silver everywhere. 'How original,' she sardonically thought, as her eyes scanned the room. Crinkling her nose delicately at the colors that reminded her of where she was. She though, had to admit, the room in itself was beautiful to say the least, gorgeous even, but she wouldn't say THAT aloud.  
  
"Something you don't like?" A smooth voice spoke from one of the many shadows in the room, causing her to start and jump slightly. She leapt from the bed, only to discover that, she was dressed in merely undergarments. Those said undergarments to be her panties and a bra.  
  
She blushed crimson, and with a small 'eep!' dived under the forest green sheets once more. She stuck her face above the silk, scanning around the room, she saw the vocal culprit, and her complexion paled.  
  
"Well?" he asked, knowingly.  
  
"Well what?" she replied, somewhat irritated and embarrassed.  
  
"I said," he said, pausing for dramatic purposes, "see something you don't like?" He grinned like a cat, stalking its prey.  
  
"Yes," she said, not a moments hesitation. "You."  
  
"Ooh, feisty," he chuckled, seating himself on the edge of the bed. She squirmed and inched the covers tighter around her scantily clad body.  
  
"Thanks for the better view," he said amusedly, not a tad abashed. He smirked, and she turned crimson, noticing what she'd done. She bunched the covers round her body, disturbing his 'view.'  
  
"Aww, no fair," he playfully pouted, laughter in his eyes. She glowered at him, watching the surroundings once more.  
  
"Oh, and by the way, how many weapons are still on you?" He asked jokingly, although shock was evident in his face when she handed him two small knives and a one shot pistol.  
  
"I think that's everything," she said, tossing them into the pile of her weapons on the silver encrusted coffee table. "What?" she asked offhandedly, "did you believe I was unarmed. At his blunt expression of confusion she lightly giggled. "My hair isn't a single purpose commodity you know." He seemed to look, slightly output at this. "What, wait, never mind, knowing your perverted mind Ferret...--" She abruptly cut off, clamping her hands over her mouth while paling.  
  
"What did you call me?" He asked, a slight tic in his cheek. She gulped and smiled sheepishly and shrugged.  
  
"Oh yes, that reminds me," he said unperturbed, "there are some clothes, on the end table, as well as oversized tees and pants. Sorry, I didn't want to go through your panties to find your pants size." He smiled, turning a slight pink, but she hadn't noticed, she was scooting towards the forms of cover.  
  
"Wow, for you that's a first," she said while watching him as she scooted towards the clothes.  
  
"Hey!" He said, indignantly.  
  
"And thanx, I normally wear these baggy pants and tanks 'ne-wayz'." She smiled and scooted further, 'almost there.'  
  
"Ah, ah, ah." He chided sarcastically, taking a gentle hold on the sheets. But that was more than enough for Hermione, especially with her embarrassment on him seeing her in her underclothes.  
  
"Where are you going?" He asked in false wonderment. He smiled and said, almost lively, "everyone's out on errands, stay, talk." He smiled charmingly.  
  
"I'd rather talk, with my clothes ON." She stated bluntly, grabbing the sheets from his grasp and reaching for the clothes once more. Her hand went right through and the image flickered once, mockingly.  
  
"Clever, very clever Draco, now give me my clothes, AND my jewelry, AND my weapons," she added as an afterthought. He smiled like a Cheshire cat.  
  
"Sorry, no can do," he said seriously.  
  
"WHAT!" she shrieked loudly.  
  
"Shush," he chided gently, "they're in the wash, only things there are a pair of my boxers." He smirked, full well knowing her answer beforehand. The smirk knowledgably widened as she crinkled her nose delicately once more. "I'll take that as a no?" he asked indifferently. She nodded and pulled the covers tighter around her body once more, accentuating her curves all the more. 'Damn,' he thought almost longingly, 'she's got to stop doing that.' He halfheartedly continued the though in his mind, a new one taking its place. Half his blood rushed below his belt not a moment after; she noticed it, goodness knows how. She squeaked and loosed them, to tuck her legs up to her chest, then tightened them once more. He halfheartedly smirked, one part of him daring the other to rip the covers of and... , while the other part (what little sanity was left) pleaded with himself not to lose his precious control he had built these seven years past. 'Damn,' he thought again, 'how does she do it? How does she shatter the control, much less get under my skin?'  
  
Oh, you'd like that, wouldn't you? One part of him said.  
  
'Shit,' he thought. 'This isn't the time to be taking metaphors literally.' He looked up, realizing that he had spaced out, she was gone, as were her weapons.  
  
Hermione huddled under the bed, finishing hemming the sheet into a garment of clothing, it was more Amazonian than she would have liked, but she couldn't very well be picky. She heard him snap from his reverie and dart silently for the door. But she knew him well enough not to venture out immediately; he would be waiting to see if she was still there. She'd wait till he returned and went to sleep.  
  
She sighed as she silently began strapping on her assortment of weapons once more. Why had she reacted that way around him, it surprised her, normally she was so calm and collected. Always the intellectual, but around him, she lost it practically. 'Damn him,' she thought, feeling the blood on her back once more. She shouldn't have been moving in the first place, nor twisting about or curling into a ball, she needed bed rest. She shuddered, 'not here though, I'm definitely NOT staying here.' She needed a plan, and to get to Pyro, 'Oh my gosh, what happened to him?' she thought worriedly. 'What if he's...' no she wouldn't finish that thought, but her brain did for her....'dead.'  
  
'Damn vixen.' Draco thought amusedly, 'I'm out of it a few minutes and she escapes, lovely little challenge. I'll enjoy breaking this one.'  
  
'Wait, since when have I enjoyed breaking girls?' he asked himself rhetorically.  
  
Do I really need to answer that one? The annoying subconscious asked.  
  
'No,' he thought darkly.  
  
Then I will, it seemed to smirk. You like her.   
  
'Damn it, I do not.' He mentally argued.  
  
He barged into the room frustrated with himself, only to discover the very girl he had been searching for asleep on the bed, HIS bed. 'Damn it,' he thought, hearing the door slam behind him, effectively waking the girl.  
  
She didn't wake though. 'Odd,' he thought, 'man she must really be tired.' He saw what she was wearing. 'She's amusing,' he thought, 'very modest too.' He silently chuckled and walked over to her, brushing a strand of hair from her face. She mumbled something, he barely caught it.  
  
"Damn you boys, you're lucky I let you sleep in our dorm since no one else is here for Christmas, but the sun won't be up for another hour, let me sleep. You always act like first years at Christmas, I bet even the Slytherin prats behave better than you. Let me sleep, you kept me up enough last night.' He tensed until she continued, "I don't know why I had to stay up to watch you play three chess tournaments, Ron always wins, so bugger off I wanna sleep!" she mumbled the last part loudly and turned, exposing her bloody, but delicate back to him.  
  
'Shit,' he thought. 'This isn't good. What if she's asleep from blood loss?' 


End file.
